Union Pier Family Photographer | Extended Family Photo Session
My husband and I have a dream for our future, when our kids are adults and they have given us grandchildren: rent a big house with lots of beds in a beautiful area and beg them all to come hang out together for a solid week. Bring on the noise, bring on the messes, bring on the choreographed bathroom usage. By that time, we will probably be missing all the craziness in our quiet, lonely house, so it will be the most wonderful week ever. This is the dream.
This beautiful, photogenic bunch had the same dream. Several of these grown kiddos live out of state, now, so Nana and Papa rented a place up in Union Pier (oh, Pure Michigan, I love you so), to spend the whole week together. Nana told me as soon as we started the walk to the beach, “I am so glad we did this!” You will NOT regret taking the time out of your trip to capture the right-now details of your family. Promise. The last time they were all able to get together was 3 years ago, for Lizzi and Andrew’s wedding.
Let me just say, it is a j-o-y getting to photograph families as they grow and change.
Hot tip, if you are planning to do beach photos with an extended family in Southwest Michigan, I strongly suggest scheduling a sunrise/morning session pretty early in the trip. Here’s why:
Sunrise lighting here is perfect. I won’t get into all the nerdy details, but the way the beach here in Union Pier and New Buffalo are oriented, it’s just PERFECT. No harsh light = no squinting, eyes watering. No harsh light = very flattering, skin smoothing, no weird shadows under eyes. No harsh light = beautiful colors.
Kids are behaving. If you’re traveling with the extended family, there are bound to be some little ones. Imagine your toddler after a long day of playing in the sand, sun and water. Imagine that toddler with his little schedule completely thrown out of whack. Imagine that toddler having a complete meltdown trying to stay up for golden hour sunset, the ONLY suitable time for a session on the beach. (Again, this is all very nerdy and I won’t bore you with the details, but the sun is going to be WAY TOO BRIGHT AND HOT for you to have good pictures taken any earlier than sunset. Trust me.) I think if you’re imagination is like mine, you will not want to have that experience with your toddler. Sunrise, though? That’s the other golden hour of the day. Your toddlers are likely waking up early as it is. They are fed. They are generally more docile. And the beach is beautiful and empty. Go for the morning shoot.
Schedule your session earlier in your stay. You’re not going to be so far out of your sleeping routine that the sunrise wake up call sounds terrible. More importantly, if we hit weather, there are a few days before everyone leaves for home for us to reschedule. That’s the key right there.
Let’s get back to the pictures!
The bad news is, most people don’t think to schedule pictures til it’s way too late. I cannot tell you how many times I get this email: “I know it’s last minute, but my whole family will be at Lake Michigan Thursday through Tuesday! Do you have any availability? We just thought of getting photos since we are all together.” The answer is almost always no. So, friends, TRY and remember to schedule this kind of session as soon as you book the trip.
